Columbus ship replica sinks in Corpus Christi marina

Columbus ship replica sinks in Corpus Christi marina

1of6In this Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 file photo, a replica Columbus's ship the Nina arrives in Little Bay in Rockport, Texas. Spain's consulate is floating a proposal to restore a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship the Nina. The wooden vessel, originally part of the replica fleet along with the Pinta and Santa Maria, docked in Corpus Christi in 1993. The other two were badly damaged in a barge crash the following year.Photo: Rachel Denny Clow, AP Photo/Corpus Christie Caller-Times, Rachel Denny Clow

5of6The Nina used for sailing classes is docked in the Lawrence Street T Head in Corpus Christi for two decades.Photo: CHARLES BARKSDALE, San Antonio Express-News file photo

6of6In this Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 file photo, a replica Columbus's ship the Nina arrives in Little Bay in Rockport, Texas. Spain's consulate is floating a proposal to restore a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship the Nina. The wooden vessel, originally part of the replica fleet along with the Pinta and Santa Maria, docked in Corpus Christi in 1993. The other two were badly damaged in a barge crash the following year.Photo: Rachel Denny Clow, AP

Officials are looking into raising and moving the vessel to a shipyard in Aransas Pass, where city officials there are interested in turning it into a tourist attraction, according to Corpus Christi Business News.

An anonymous benefactor had agreed to pay for renovations if the ship stays in the Coastal Bend, Rosemary Vega of the Aransas Pass Chamber of Commerce told the Business News.

Kim Mrazek, head of the caretaker Columbus Sailing Association, told the Corpus Christi Caller Times that the ship sank sometime after midnight. A marina official was notified of her sinking about 2 a.m.

"It was something very quick. She was dry. She had all of her leaks patched she was doing just (fine)," she told the newspaper.

The replica partially sank three days after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. It took about three months to bring it back above water, costing the association about $20,000 in donated funds, according to KIII-TV.

Spain gave La Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria replicas to Corpus Christi in 1992 as part of the 500th anniversary celebration. The association restored La Niña, but the other two ships were considered too expensive to restore and were demolished in 2014.

Andy is a native of Alabama who first moved to Texas in 1980. He attended The University of Texas at Austin for one day before being accepted to the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has worked for newspapers in Alabama, Texas and California since September 1977. He has worked as a news photographer, reporter, columnist, business editor, assistant city editor, and senior copy editor.